creative office style Apr 6, 2017

TREND MEMO: VIBRANT PINK

Day four of the spring trend memo series is all about PINK. Blush pink, bubblegum pink, hot pink, fuchsia—anything and everything unabashedly pink. Today, I’m giving you the skinny on why this vibrant hue is one of the biggest trends of the season, how you can wear it to work and play, and where to find the best pink pieces. But first, let’s chat a little about this polarizing hue, shall we? As a self-proclaimed anti-pink girl, I think I have a little ‘splaining to do…

My relationship with the color pink has been fairly complicated since high school. In fact, for the past many years, pink and I have been almost completely estranged. I could stomach some pale blush hues or even some vibrant corals, but bubblegum or fuchsia? Hell to the no. At some point in my young adulthood, I subconsciously decided that the hue was too saccharine, too frivolous, too GIRLY—completely at odds with the substantive person and professional I wanted to be. Add to that a thick blonde mane, and the idea of wearing pink conjured too many visions of Barbie for me, so my closet all but banished the hue.

Nevertheless, while pink has always held a prominent place in fashion branding, this season, designers unleashed pink in the brightest, boldest, baddest ways possible. So what’s it all about? Why is pink packing such a punch right now? Moreover, why do I hate to admit how much I am LOVING it?!

Part of the vibrant pink craze can be attributed to the return of super saturated colors across the board thanks to 80s influences and a rebellion against minimalist trends of late. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t note the socio-political connections as well which have a particular relevance to me and, I believe, any reader of this blog. The fashion world’s pink statement, as Megan Gustashaw aptly describes it, is two-fold:

For one, it’s a stand against the idea that women, if they want to be treated as equals to men, should dress like them. But it also represents a new take on the idea of “dressing like a woman”; a concept that all too often feels hyper-sexualized and downright inconvenient. Instead, fashion’s new take on unabashedly feminine clothes are commanding, comfortable, and very, very cool.

A few years ago I started this blog in an effort to show that great style is not in diametric opposition to a working girl’s life—in or out of the office. Ironically, my arch-nemesis-turned-new-best-friend (aka, the color pink) offers a nice reminder of these foundational sentiments. As a young woman starting out in my career, I saw so many of my female friends and colleagues struggle with how to dress for the workplace, especially those workplaces dominated by men. In many cases, I saw these concerns manifest themselves in the belief that women had to dress like men and downplay their femininity to have a seat at the table. Instead of resigning to a life of gray pantsuits, I was convinced that not only could a woman’s personal style and professional life peacefully co-exist, but that they could both flourish along with her identity and self-possession as a woman.

I guess it took about a thousand incarnations of Elle Woods stomping down every runway from New York to Paris for me to realize that some of my own anti-pink biases were just as backward as the misguided notion that women have to dress or act like men to succeed. It’s as if some part of me worried that wearing pink might remind my male counterparts that I was a young blonde female, i.e. intrinsically unqualified for anything cerebral. Clearly, wearing a color like blue completely disguised that! Thank goodness I kept my cover lest I show up in pink one day at the office and be greeted by men shouting, YOU MEAN YOU’VE BEEN A GIRL THIS WHOLE TIME?! Phew!

My love for menswear-inspired fashion runs deep, and by nature, I’m never going to be the girliest girl in the room. However, all of the powerful incarnations of pink on the runways definitely have me thinking differently this season. I’m not going to be getting rid of my pinstripes or brogues anytime soon, but I’m also not going to be shying away from the unapologetically feminine. As my pink power suit suggests, it’s high time pink and I become friends again because contrary to my former qualms about the color, it turns out that pink is the ultimate power move this spring, and (wo)man oh (wo)man am I on board.

WEAR IT TO WORK

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I get it, head-to-toe fuchsia is tough to pull off in most workplaces. Opt for these amazing pants that come in both bright pink and a gorgeous blush tone and pair either with a classic white blouse. Alternatively, if you opt for the bright pair, style them like I did in this post!

Block heels are kind of a big deal these days, and these pumps (which I have in black) are as comfortable as they are trendy, adding the perfect pop of color to any spring or summer look. Also, you can’t beat that heel height during a long day at the office!

You may remember me wearing these blush pink wide-leg trousers from this post during fashion week. The refreshing hue makes for such an amazing addition to your work wardrobe in spring and summer. Wide leg pants also have the benefit of being much more comfortable during super hot summer days since they allow better airflow and aren’t suffocating your legs.

This vibrant pink blouse would look amazing with a classic black pencil skirt for a perfect everyday office look.

This is the prettiest blazer EVER. I have it in navy and it’s just such a perfect, classic cut. You can wear it with jeans, dress pants, layered over a sheath dress or even with jean shorts on the weekend. It also comes in petite, tall and regular sizing, sooooo yeah I’m buying it. DELISH.

I had my step mom (the 60’s model on my blog) get a pair of these bright pink pants 2 years ago. I have her wear them quite a bit on the blog, but I still don’t think she’s comfortable wearing them on her own!!
It’s a fabulous shade though—and I’m glad you’re sporting it, Mary!
Jodiehttp://www.jtouchofstyle.com

That is a beautiful shade and I would definitely wear the blazer with white pants or a white skirt. BTW, I have a pair of pink Converse All-star Chucks that never fail to get (good) comments whenever I wear them.

Yes, yes, YES to the pink suit and YEEEEEAAAAS to everything else you are saying in this post. You are my favorite human from any blog ever and I love your brain. Please keep being amazing, forever!!!! <3

I love everything about this! Although I’m not currently in a profession that requires traditional business attire, this is something I have struggled with being in a male-dominated field. I’m a chemical engineer by training pursuing a PhD in materials science and engineering and altogether too often I’m reminded of the fact that some men find my presence “inconvenient” or “distracting.” It got to the point that during my masters I wore no makeup EVER, because if I did there were too many men in my program who would make inappropriate comments. Mind you, I was generally in jeans and a button down shirt or t-shirt because that’s what lab work necessitates. It was frustrating and I’m glad to hear more people speaking out about this and standing up against the issue! Long story short, thank you for this.

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